European Labour Authority will be based in Bratislava, not Rīga

Latvia on June 13 failed to secure Rīga as the headquarters of the new European Labour Authority (ELA).

Instead Bratislava, Slovakia was selected to host the seat of the future ELA. The decision on the seat of the ELA was taken by common agreement of the European Union's member states' representatives after holding a vote in the margins of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council.

4 EU countries had sent offers to the Council to host the new headquarters: Sofia (Bulgaria), Nicosia (Cyprus), Riga (Latvia) and Bratislava.

The creation of the ELA was announced in September 2017 by President Jean-Claude Juncker in his 2017 State of the European Union address to ensure that EU rules on labor mobility be enforced in a fair, simple and effective way.